Apparatus for inspecting sealed containers



Marlh 1968 ca. 0. ARMBRUSTER ET AL 3,371,781

APPARATUS FOR INSPECTING SEALED CONTAINERS Filed April 12, 1965 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventors Geo/2&5 D. flknamyra Hausa J Ewe/5 5y March1968 e. D. ARMBRUSTER ET AL 3,371,781

APPARATUS FOR INSPECTING SEALED CONTAINERS Filed April 12, 1965 v 4Sheets-Sheet 2 m ML ER J. R/NGEL krrozmsys March 1968 G. n. ARMBRUSTERETAL 3,371,781

APPARATUS FOR INSPEGTING SEALED CONTAINERS Filed April 12, 1965 4Sheets-Shet a Inventors GEORGE aqzmszu rm /nLTE/z J. R/NGE L BY w 'HrTOeNEYS Match 5, 1968 G. D. ARMBRUSTER ET AL 3,371,781

APPARATUS FOR INSPECTING SEALED CONTAINERS Filed April 12, 1965 4Sheets-Sheet 4 I22 I20 I Inventor: Gsozes OHRMBRUSTER ML ER JR/NGEL. BY(,I) fl- 210-4 Arr-MEX;

United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for inspectingsealed containers at high production rates to determine whether or notan adequate vacuum exists within the container. A proximity sensor ismounted to be accurately positioned with respect to a flip panel in thecontainer cap, regardless of variations in container height or cockingor tilting of the cap on the container.

The present invention has particular utility in inspecting baby foodjars although it is obviously not limited to this particular field. Babyfood containers conventionally take the form of a glass jar having ametal cap provided with a centrally located flip panel which assumes acon cave configuration when a s'uflicient vacuum exists within the jarand assumes a convex configuration in the absence of a sufficientvacuum. In the usual case, the food is placed in the jar and the headspace in the jar is filled with steam before the cap is put on. As thejar contents cool, the steam condenses thereby forming a vacuum in thehead space of the container if the container is properly sealed and theformation of this vacuum deflects the flip panel in the container cap toits concave position. The flip panel maintains this position as long asthe vacuum exists within the jar, thus providing a continuous indicationas to whether or not the jar is properly sealed. Sealing of the jar isof critical importance because an improper seal admits air into the jar,causing spoilage of the food.

While it is possible to visually inspect the sealed jars to determinewhether or not the flip panel is in its vacuum indicating concaveposition, it is simply not economically practical to visually inspectthese containers because of the tremendous volume of such containerswhich are marketed. Under normal conditions, to be economicallypractical the inspection system must be capable of inspecting thecontainers at rates in the order of 1000 containers per minute. Combinedwith the high production rate is the fact that packing techniques havereached a point where the number of improperly sealed containers isextremely small and may be, on the average, as low as one dud containerout of 2500. Even with such a low rate of dud containers, where spoilageof baby food is concerned, it is obviously essential to accuratelyinspect each individual container.

A further problem arises in that the manufacturing tolerances of theglass jars employed as baby food containers are such that thepermissible height variation is within a tolerance range of plus orminus of an inch. This gives a total possible height variation of A ofan inch between jars of minimum and maximum height, a dimension which isof appreciable magnitude compared to the deflection range of the flippanel which is approximately .050 inch. Also, in some instances wherescrew 'caps are employed, the cap will not be properly threaded It is aprimary object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatusfor inspecting containers having flip panel tops which is operable andeffective to detect and eject improperly sealed or dud containers from apacking line operated at a high rate of speed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide methods andapparatus for inspecting sealed containers having vacuum indicating flippanel tops which automatically compensate for varying container heightswithin a manufacturing tolerance, which variations may be of substantialmagnitude as compared to the range of deflection of the flip panel.

It is another object of the invention to provide methods and apparatusfor inspecting sealed containers having a vacuum indicating flip paneltop which are adapted for use with proximity detecting sensor devices.

The foregoing, and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent by reference to the followingspecification and to the drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, with certain parts broken away oromitted, showing one form of apparatus embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a detail top plan view of a portion of the apparatus ofFIGURE 1 with certain parts broken away, omitted or shown in section;

FIGURE 3 is a detail cross sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a detail cross sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a detail cross sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a detail cross sectional view of a typical container top orcap which the apparatus of FIGURE 1 is operable to inspect;

FIGURE 7 is a partial side elevational view of a baby food jar or thelike with the jar finish and cap shown in section;

FIGURE 8 is an end elevational view, partially in section, showing amodification of the apparatus of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 8a is a detail cross sectional view of a container employinganother form of cap;

FIGURE 9 is a cross sectional view taken on line 9-9 of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a schematic diagram of the control circuit or theembodiment of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 11 is a schematic diagram of a portion of a control circuitemployed in the embodiment of FIG- URES 8 and 9, the omitted portions ofthe FIGURE 11 circuit being identical to the corresponding portions ofthe circuit of FIGURE 10.

Referring particularly to FIGURES 1 through 5, one form of apparatusembodying the present invention includes an endless belt conveyordesignated generally 20 which is operable to convey containers C to beinspected along its upper run 22 in a direction from right to left asviewed in FIGURE 1. Conveyor 20 is driven in continuous movement by aschematically illustrated drive motor 24 and sealed containers C are fedby suitable mechanism, not shown, onto the right hand end of upper rim22 and are fed onto a suitable takeout, not shown, at the left hand endof upper run 22. Because of a required high capacity of these units,normally in the range of 1000 containers per minute, the containerspassing along conveyor 20 are in an abutted single line.

An inspection station designated generally 26 is mounted in operativerelationship to the upper run of conveyor 20 and includes a pair of sideplates 28 and 30 (FIGURE 2) which form a part of or are fixedly mountedupon fixed elements of the frame of conveyor 20. A pair of opposed guiderails 32 and 34 are mounted upon side plates 28 and 30 respectively toguide containers C during their transit of inspection station 26 topositively locate the containers transversely of the conveyor. Guiderails 32 and 34 are mounted upon side plates 28 and 30 by angle brackets33 fixedly secured as by bolts to the respective guide rails. Anglebrackets 38 are slidably supported upon fixed brackets 42 fixedlysecured to side plates 28 and 3t} and are clamped in adjusted positiontransversely of the conveyor by bolts 44 which pass through elongateslots and angle brackets 38 and are threaded into fixed brackets 42.

A rigid angle member 46 has a vertical arm 43 which is clamped intoface-to-face engagement with side plate 28 by a pair of clamping screws50 which pass through elongate slots 52 in arm 48 to accommodatevertical adjustment of member 46. A positioning screw 54 passesdownwardly through a bore 56 in the horizontal arm 58 of member 46 andis threaded through a fixed nut 6t? Welded to arm 48. The lower end 62of screw 54 bears against the upper surface of plate 23 so that turningof screw 54 can vertically shift angle member 4-6 relative to the fixedmember 28 when screws 59 are loosened.

A support plate 64 is supported upon the horizontal upper arm 53 ofangle member 46 and is clamped to arm 58 in selected adjusted positionstransversely of con veyor 20 by clamping screws 66 which pass throughelongate slot 68 in plate 64 and are threaded into arm 53.

At the free end of support plate 64, a floating head assembly designatedgenerally 70 is suspended at the underside of plate 64. Head assembly 70includes a dish shaped support head 72 having an upwardly projectingcentral boss 72 which projects upwardly through a bore 76 through plate64. Head 72 is suspended from plate 64 by four symmetrically locatedheaded support pins 78. The shanks of pins 78 are slidably receivedwithin bores 80 which extend through plate 64 and the lower ends of pins78 are fixedly secured, as by threaded engagement, into head 72. Acompression spring 82 surrounds each pin 78 and bears between the lowersurface of support plate 64 and the upper surface of head 72.

Bores 76 and 80 provide sufficient radial clearance between boss 74 andpins 80 so that head 72 can move upwardly freely from its lowermostposition as determined by the engagement of the heads of pins 78 withthe top of support plates 70, and this clearance also permits a limitedtilting movement of head 72 which may be required by conditions to bedescribed below.

In the particular example disclosed in the drawings, the apparatus isemployed to determine whether or not a sealed container, such as a babyfood jar, has a suflicient vacuum in the container. Referring to FIGURES6 and 7, there is disclosed a closure cap frequently used for baby foodjars. The particular cap disclosed is described in detail in US. PatentNo. 3,152,711 and hence only those features of the cap germane to thepresent invention will be described in detail. Briefly, the cap, asshown in FIG- URE 6, includes a top panel which is formed with anupwardly projecting annular peripheral rim portion 84 and a centrallylocated flip panel 86 which normally assumes the convex configurationshown in full line in the cross sectional view of FIGURE 6. When the capis in its sealed position upon a jar, FIGURE 7, and a satisfactoryVacuum exists within the jar, the vacuum within the jar causes flippanel 86 to deflect into the concave position shown in full line inFIGURE 7. In the event the cap is not adequately sealed to the jar, thevacuum is dissipated and upon the loss of vacuum within the jar, flippanel 86 will spring back upwardly into its original convex positionillustrated in broken line in FIGURE 7.

The present invention is especially concerned with inspecting jarsemploying closures of this type to determine Whether or not an adequatevacuum exists within the container, the presence of the vacuum in turnindicating a satisfactory seal. Presence of an adequate vacuum isexhibited by a flip panel 86 in its concave position, while absence of asatisfactory vacuum is exhibited by the convex position of flip panel86.

To sense the position of flip panel 86, a proximity sensor 88 is fixedlymounted within the boss of head 72. The particular proximity sensoremployed takes the form of a commercially available proximity switchmanufactured by the Micro Switch Division of Honeywell, Freeport, 111.,and is described in detail in data sheet 213A supplement to Honeywellcatalog 85. In brief, the sensor is connected to an oscillator which inturn is connected through an amplifier to a monostable flip flop whichin turn controls a relay. The sensor is an integral part of theoscillator stage and when an electrically conductive object is locatedwithin the detection field of the sensor, the object absorbs oscillatorenergy which results in an amplitude change. This change controls thestate of the monostable flip flop which in turn controls a relay.Basically, the sensor generates a signal to act as a switch when a metalobject is moved into the field of the sensor.

Such devices can be adjusted to an extreme degree of sensitivity. Withthe particular cap disclosed, the total range of deflection of the capbetween the convex and concave position is approximately .050 inch andcommercially available sensors can be adjusted to detect the existenceof the concave or convex position of the flip panel of the cap.

However, with the particular baby-food type jar shown in the drawings, aproblem is presented in that the ordinary manufacturing tolerances ofsuch jars permit a height variation in the completed jar of plus orminus of an inch or a total height variation of A of an inch which is ofappreciable magnitude as compared to the total range of deflection ofthe flip panel of the cap.

In order to compensate for this height variation while at the same timeaccurately locating sensor 88 at a predetermined elevation relative tothe top panel of the cap, the underside of head 72 is formed with adownwardly projecting annular ri-m 90 which is adapted to rest upon theperipheral rim portion 84 of the container cap as the container isbrought into registry beneath the head. Springs 82 and the floatingmounting of head 72 upon support plate 64 permit the head to elevate anddepress to compensate for containers of varying heights. The normal restposition of head 72, determined by adjustment of pins 78 and the heightadjustment of angle mernber 46 is selected to be such that the lowersurface of head 72 is spaced above conveyor 20 by a distance less thanthe minimum container height.

In order to accurately inspect 'all containers, it is necessary thathead 72 further be capable of tilting movement out of a horizontal planeto accurately sense the presence or absence of a satisfactory vacuum ina container in those cases where the container cap may be cocked, as byan improper engagement of the cap with the screw thread on the containerfinish. Where the cap is not properly threaded onto the container, it isalmost inevitable that the vacuum within the container has been lost,and unless the head can tilt, the head is elevated to the highest pointof the tilted jar rim, thus spacing the sensor 88 farther from thecenter of the cap than normal. This leads to the possibility of failingto detect an improperly sealed container. The clearances provided bybores 76 and permit the head to tilt so that full contact through 360 isachieved between rim and head 72 and the peripheral rim portion 84 ofthe cap even though the cap or container may be tilted during itspass-age beneath the inspection head.

To eject those containers having an unsatisfactory vacuum, a pneumaticdifferential motor 92 is mounted upon a plate 94 which, as best seen inFIGURES 2 and 5, is mounted for adjustment longitudinally of conveyor 20by clamping bolts 96 which pass through elongate slots 98 in plate 94and are threaded into a second plate 100.

Plate 100 in turn is mounted for adjustment transversely of conveyor 20by a dovetail groove 102 engagement with a third plate 104. Plate 104 isan angle member whose horizontal arm is slidably engaged with plate 100and whose vertical arm is 'adjustably clamped for vertical adjustment ofthe entire assembly upon plate 28 by clamping screws 106 which passthrough an elongate slot 108 in the vertical arm of member 104. Aclamping screw 110 passes upwardly through an elongate slot 112 (FIGURE5) and is threaded into plate 100.

From the foregoing, it is believed apparent that motor 92 can beadjustably positioned vertically, transversely, and longitudinallyrelative to conveyor 20. The purpose of the universal positioning ofmotor 92 is to enable a precise and accurate location at which thepiston rod 114 of motor 92 strikes the container. Piston rod 114 isnormally located in a retracted position clear of the path of containersupon conveyor 20. Upon the detection of a container with anunsatisfactory vacuum by sensor 88, motor 92 is actuated to extend itspiston rod, the piston rod tip 116 striking the detected container toeject the container from the conveyor onto a table, not shown, locatedon the opposite side of the conveyor from motor 92. Vertical adjustmentof motor 92 is essential so that tip 116 of piston rod 114 will strikethe container in a horizontal plane containing the center of gravity ofthe container.

Adjustment of motor 92 longitudinally of the conveyor is essential inorder that the tip 116 will strike the container in line with thevertical center line of the cylindrical container. Because of theinherent delay between the triggering of the sensor and the stroking ofpiston rod 114, it is'necessary that the longitudinal axis of piston rod114 be located slightly downstream of the conveyor from the center lineof sensor 88. This distance must, of course, be calibrated both in termsof the reaction time delay between the triggering of the sensor and thestroking of the piston rod 114 and the speed of travel of the containersalong conveyor 20.

Adjustment of motor 92 transversely of the conveyor is likewise relatedto the speed of travel of the containers along the conveyor. In theusual case, the conveyor speed is such that containers areconveyed pastthe inspecting head at rates in the order of 1000 containers a minute.The containers are fed along the conveyor in single line in contactwitheach other and thus, when a container is to be ejected, it isnecessary that the piston rod perform its function of ejecting the dudcontainer and retracting before the next successive container reachesthe piston rod. In order to accomplish this, motor 92 is a relativelysmall pneumatic motor, a motor with a inch bore and a /2 inch strokehaving been effectively employed. To simplify the motor actuation, afull stroke of the motor is employed, and by adjusting the position ofmotor 92 transversely of the conveyor the piston rod projects into thepath of travel of the containers only by a selected distance determinedby adjusting the position of the cylinder of motor 92 toward or awayfrom the path of travel of the conveyor. To further minimize possibleinterference, tip 116 is constructed in a conical shape and to cushionthe striking of the tip against the container, tip 116 is made of rubberor other suitable resilient material. The ejecting of the container isaccomplished by striking and knocking the container out of line ratherthan merely pushing the container to one side.

The cont-r01 circuit is schematically shown in FIGURE 9. Sensor 88 isconnected by its output lead 120 to an amplifier 122. Amplifier unit 122is commercially available from the manufacturer of sensor 88 andsuitable units are described in the micro switch data sheet 213Areferred to above. In wsence, sensor 88 and amplifier unit 122 act at aswitch to electrically connect a solenoid 124 to electric power supplyline L1 and L2 when the sensor detects a dud container. Solenoid 124forms a part of a solenoid actuated 3-way valve designed generally 126which is of a commercially available construction. The specific valvedisclosed is manufactured and sold by Ross Operating Valve Company ofDetroit, Mich., under catalog No. 1613A2001 and is in essence a normallyclosed 3-Way valve which alternatively connect. a head end conduit 128to an atmospheric vent 130 or to a high pressure supply conduit 132which is connected to a pressure source 134 through a pressure regulator136. The normal connection of valve 126 is to connect head end conduit128 to vent 130 as shown in FIGURE 10, when the solenoid isde-energized. Upon energization of solenoid 124, the connections ofvalve 126 are switched to connect high pressure conduit 132 to head endconduit 128.

The rod end of the cylinder of motor 92 is connected by a rod endconduit 138 to a pressure accumulator 140 which in turn is connected topressure source 134 via a conduit 142 having a second pressure regulator144 connected in the conduit. Accumulator 140 (see FIGURE 1) is a simpleair chamber whose volume may be adjusted as by an adjusting screw 146.Pressure regulators 136 and 144 are set so that a relatively highpressure, such as 60 p.s.i., exists in conduit 132 while a relativelylow pressure of approximately 5 p.s.i., for example, is normallymaintained in accumulator 140 and rod end conduit 138.

Referring to FIGURE 10, with the control circuit in its normal conditiona pressure of 5 p.s.i. is applied to the rod end of the cylinder ofmotor 92, thereby urging piston rod 114 to its retracted position, thehead end of motor 92 being connected to vent. Upon the sensing of a dudcontainer by sensor 88, solenoid 124 of valve 126 is energized and thevalve connections are shifted to connect head end conduit 128 to highpressure conduit 132, thereby applying 60 p.s.i. to the head end of thecylinder of motor 92. Because of the small internal dimensions of motor92, the 55 p.s.i. differential pressure applied to the head end of themotor drives piston rod 114 to its fully extended position almostimmediately. In so doing, air ahead of the piston is forced from thecylinder through rod end conduit 138 into the chamber of accumulator140. By adjusting the volume of the chamber of accumulator 140, thepressure in chamber 140 can be built up above its normal 5 p.s.i.pressure to some value well below 60 p.s.i., as for example 20 p.s.i.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the ejecting stroke of piston rod114 is extremely rapid and the high speed movement of the piston rod inits outward stroke almost instantaneously knocks the dud container outof the line of containers and oif the opposite side of the conveyor. 1

The time period of energization of solenoid 124 is determined byoperating characteristics of sensor 88 and amplifier unit 122. The timedelay between actuation of sensor 88 and energization of solenoid 124 isdependent upon the particular sensor-amplifier unit combination chosen,operating response times of commercially available equipment varyingbetween 5 and 40 milliseconds. The release response time or time periodbetween energization and de-energization of solenoid 124 is dependentboth on the characteristics of the system and the sensing distance andcan be varied between 8 and 120 milliseconds. A further release responsedelay is encountered in the time required to physically shift valve 126from its actuated position to its vent position. Shifting movement ofthe valve from its normal vent position to actuated position, as well asthe operating response time of the sensor system, is compensated for bythe positioning adjustment of motor 92 longitudinally of the conveyor.

Because of the small chamber dimensions of the cylinder of motor 92,valve 126 need be connected to supply pressure to the head end of motor92 for only an extremely short period of time because the motor strokesto its fully extended position almost instantaneously. The releaseresponse time is thus chosen to be as short as possible consistent Witha full stroke of piston rod 114. Thus, after actuation solenoid 124 isde-energized almost immediately and the valve returns to the normalposition as 7 shown in FIGURE in which the head end of motor 92 isvented. The pressure accumulated in accumulator 140 acts immediately todrive the piston in its return stroke.

A modification of the invention is disclosed in FIG- URES 8, 8a, 9 and11. In some instances, the configuration of the top surface of the capis such that the sensitivity of the sensor can not be adjusted todistinguish between the mass of metal at the cap rim and the flip panelat the center. Thus, with the single sensor employed in the embodimentdescribed above, the configuration of the cap is such that the sensor isactuated both when the leading and trailing edge of the cap pass beneaththe sensor. Such a cap is shown in FIGURE 8a having a top panel 200which in general is perfectly flat except for the depressed flip panel202 in the center section.

When a cap of this type is employed upon the containers, a second sensor204 is added to the previously described embodiment and is mounted upona bracket 206 attached to support plate 64. Sensor 204 is located withits longitudinal center line in the same vertical plane as sensor 88 andis located to be actuated by the metal of the cap rim when the cap isaccurately centered under sensor 88. The two sensors are connected inseries so that amplifier unit 122 is triggered only when both sensors 88and 204 are simultaneously actuated. Sensor 204 will be actuated everytime a container cap is centered beneath sensor 88, however at this timesensor 88 will not actuate unless the cap indicates an insufficientvacuum in the container. Sensor 88 will be actuated twice during thepassage of each container, once as the leading portion of the cap passesbeneath it and once as the trailing portion of the cap passes beneathit. However, at both these times, the spacing between sensor 204 and thecap is such that sensor 204 will not be actuated.

FIGURE 11 indicates schematically the electrical connections of theembodiment of FIGURES 8 and 9, the remaining portion of the pneumaticcircuit having been omitted from FIGURE 11 since it is identical withthe pneumatic circuit of FIGURE 10.

While two embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosedembodiments may be modified. Therefore, the foregoing description is tobe considered exemplary rather than limiting, and the true scope of theinvention is that defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In an apparatus for determining whether the vacuum in a sealedcontainer is satisfactory where the container top has a centrallylocated flip panel which assumes a generally concave configuration whenthe vacuum in the container is satisfactory and a convex configurationwhen the vacuum in the container is unsatisfactory; the combinationcomprising conveyor means for moving containers in succession past aninspection station, a floating head element at said inspection stationmounted for vertical movement and for tilting movement, a flat supportsurface on said head element adapted to be supported by the peripheralrim portion of a container top when the container is at said inspectionstation, sensor means mounted in said head element to be supported at apredetermined level relative to the rim portion of the container top invertical registry with the flip panel therein when said support surfaceof said head element is supported by the rim portion of the containertop, said sensor means being responsive to the proximity of the flippanel when in vertical registry therewith to generate a signal only whensaid flip panel is convex to a degree indicating an unsatisfactoryvacuum in the container, and means responsive to the generation of asignal by said sensor means for ejecting the container from saidconveyor means.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein means for ejecting comprises adifferential motor having a cylinder and a piston rod moveabletransversely of said conveyor means between a normal retracted positionclear of the path of containers along said conveying means and anextended position wherein said rod projects into the path of containerson said conveyor means, means for adjustably positioning the motortransversely of said conveyor to regulate the portion of the stroke ofsaid rod into the path of containers, and means for adjustablypositioning said motor longitudinally of said conveyor means toaccommodate for movement of a container to be ejected along saidconveyor means in the time interval between the generation of saidsignal and the stroking of said piston rod from said normal retractedposition.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means for ejecting furthercomprises a pressure source, and a differential motor having a cylinderand a piston rod, valve means normally connecting the head end of saidmotor cylinder to vent and operable in response to the generation of asignal by said sensor means to connect said head end to said source, anda pressurized accumulator chamber connected to the rod end of saidcylinder, the pressure in said chamber when said piston rod is in itsretracted position being substantially less than the pressure applied tosaid head end when connected to said source.

4. In an apparatus for determining whether the vacuum in a sealedcontainer is satisfactory where the container top has a centrallylocated flip panel which assumes a generally concave configuration whenthe vacuum in the container is satisfactory and a convex configurationwhen the vacuum in the container is unsatisfactory; the combinationcomprising conveyor means for moving containers in succession past aninspection station, a support plate mounted in overlying relationship tosaid conveying means at said inspection station, a head element having aflat annular bottom surface suspended from said support plate forvertical movement relative thereto to and from a normal rest position atwhich the bottom surface of said head element is located in a horizontalplane below the minimum height of a container top above said conveyingmeans and for tilting movement in which said bottom surface is inclinedfrom said horizontal plane, said bottom surface being adapted to besupported by the peripheral rim portion of a container top when thecontainer is at said inspection station, sensor means mounted in saidhead element to be supported at a predetermined level relative to therim portion of the container top in vertical registry with the flippanel therein when the bottom surface of said head element is supportedby the container top, said sensor means being responsive to theproximity of said flip panel to generate a signal only when said flippanel is convex to a degree indicating an unsatisfactory vacuum in thecontainer, and means responsive to the generation of a signal by saidsensor means for ejecting the container from said conveyor means.

References Cited UNITED STATES FATENTS 2,836,296 5/1958 Lewis 209883,206,025 9/1965 Ochs 209--88 3,206,027 9/1965 Bailey 209ll1.8

M. HENSON WOOD, 111., Primary Examiner.

R. A. SCHACHER, Assistant Examiner.

